Finding Family
by byrdgirl
Summary: Nighcrawler/OC. Beth Ann is a girl with a secret and no family. What happens when an accident in the woods puts her in danger? Rated for some language and a little bit of violence.


Disclaimer: If anyone involved with the comic book or the movie actually reads this and considers suing, don't. I'll already have died of shock and you're not getting my stereo.  
  
Authors notes: Sorry, I don't read the comic book. Please don't throw food, I just can't start something in the middle, and don't have the money to start most comic books from the start, so there ya have it. I saw the movie and became fascinated with Nightcrawler's character. I did a little research online and got some info on the character and some background story, and I tried to incorporate that as best as I could into this story. Sorry if I get anything wrong.  
  
Reviews are appreciated, constructive criticism is gold, and flames are laughed at with great delight.  
  
**********  
  
FINDING HOME  
  
"Thank you for calling Highland Studios, this is Beth Ann. How may I help you?" The mantra had become automatic to Beth Ann after working there for only a month. Pavlov would be proud, she thought to herself. She often joked with her co-worker, Nancy, that she answered her home phone that way too. The man on the other end of the line was not happy.  
  
"I'm sorry sir, but he did schedule you for studio 3 on Thursday at 5:30."  
  
There was a long pause. Nancy looked up in curiosity. She regarded Beth Ann with a great deal of professional admiration and just a little jealousy.  
  
"I'm sorry for the confusion, sir." Beth Ann's words might have been automatic, but no one would ever guess that. Her tone of voice suggested a serious interest concerning her present conversation. It was her voice which made her so successful on a phone line, or in any conversational situation for that matter. She knew exactly what tone of voice to use to calm someone down, or to raise their curiosity, or to rally a crowd to a cause. Everyone she met, told her that she should be a public speaker. She always responded that it was too much stress. Besides, she had no interest in it.  
  
She wouldn't tell them the real reason. A job like that would be a commitment. She needed to be able to keep her nomadic lifestyle, wandering from job to job, from place to place. She no home or friends, but she had grown used to that.  
  
Right now, she was a receptionist for Highland Recording Studios in the Hudson Valley. It wasn't bad work, and she liked being in contact with the music community, even if most of the musicians weren't very good, and were frequently irate.  
  
After another long pause, Beth Ann rolled her eyes, but her voice spoke of nothing but absolute sincerity. "I understand, but Thursday evening really is the best time to record. Why don't I move you up to studio 1 as well? It's bigger and the acoustics are really great." She smiled at the response that she got and nodded. "Okay, great. Well I look forward to seeing you on Thursday, Don." She hung up the phone and laughed.  
  
Nancy shook her head in amazement. "Was that Don Franks?" Her light accent betrayed her New York City origins. Beth Ann nodded in answer to the question and then laughed as Nancy's dramatic response. "Beth Ann, you must be a witch or something. If that man called my line, he'd be threatening law suite by now."  
  
"He scheduled for Thursday and we both knew it. And besides, he might have been threatening law suit, but by the time you got done with him, he'd be terrified."  
  
"Very true." The two women laughed at what was an ongoing joke between them.  
  
**********  
  
Beth Ann McAlastair was as Scottish as her name suggested. She had thick black hair which she usually wore back in braids, and eyes so green that they sometimes seemed to glow. Her slight frame and easy smile hid her very difficult past from everyone. The young woman was, if nothing else, a survivor. She had been living on her own since she was 16, and had the equivalent of a college education though she never officially graduated high school. She had a collection of library cards from nearly every region of the United States, and an even more impressive collection of unique talents. She could speed read and had a photographic memory. She was musically gifted and had never met an instrument that she couldn't play, although the only one that she carried with her was an old, beat up alto recorder. She had what many people called the magic touch. Anyone who had ever experienced one of her massages, claimed that they had been changed by it.  
  
She also had a more subtle talent. She could read people like books. That coupled with her incredible voice was how she survived on her own when she was so young. She instinctively knew when to play on people's sympathy, and when to appear strong and independent. She knew when to play the shy quiet girl, and when to be aggressive and outgoing. Wherever she went, she always had an easy time finding a job and a good deal on an apartment or a hotel room. People just seemed naturally inclined to help her. No one ever knew how much effort and manipulation were involved on her part.  
  
Some might say that her behavior was immoral. She had thought it herself on more than one occasion. Then she would have to remind herself that she never hurt anyone. She never used her talent to take from others, and she usually left them with a sense that they had done good. People that met her felt good about themselves, sometimes for the first time in a long time. Beth Ann had never intentionally hurt the people she met, but she did use them to survive. She hoped that someday, she would be able to settle down, and stop her nomadic lifestyle. Then perhaps she wouldn't have to use people so much.  
  
**********  
  
Kurt Wagner laughed as he leapt from one tree to another in a complicated series of acrobatic moves that would make most people ill just watching him. Occasionally, he would vanish mid leap in a puff of brimstone and reappear with a soft bamf, several trees away. It had been a long time since he felt this free. In Boston he was happy, but he always needed to worry about being seen. He could only go out at night to avoid hearing screams of revulsion and being chased by angry mobs. He loved his abandoned church, it was his sanctuary, but he was an acrobat at heart. He needed to fly sometimes.  
  
It was worse after what happened at the White House. Then, he was afraid of even going out at night. He was anxious any time someone looked up while passing his church. He jumped every time he heard a siren. It had only been a short time before the X-Men found him, but sometimes he wondered if that was his own personal hell; being trapped in one place and afraid of every sound and shadow.  
  
He liked Xavier's school. He liked being around people who accepted him again, like they had in the circus. They gave him a room of his own, and he helped them repair the extensive damage that had been inflicted in the recent attack. He proved very useful in the repairs. He could get to the hard to reach places without the use of a ladder.  
  
He thought that it might be nice to stay at the school where he was accepted. He found the energy and the unstoppable optimism of the children refreshing, but he needed some time to work things out on his own. After the school was rebuilt and things got back to normal, he told Xavier so. He was worried that he would somehow insult the leader of the X-Men, but the man simply nodded and told him that he hoped he would decide after some time to return.  
  
"Oh yes Professor. I think that I would like that very much."  
  
Ororo offered to fly him wherever he wanted to go in the jet. He enjoyed that very much as well. The two shared a connection that he wasn't entirely sure he understood. Perhaps it was that, in their own way, they were both unapproachable; he because of his alarming appearance, and she because of her undeniable beauty. He had flirted with her, and while she seemed surprised by it, she certainly didn't seem opposed to it. Maybe most men were too intimidated by her beauty to approach her. Maybe he was the first person to flirt with her so shamelessly just as she was the first person to tell him that she thought his markings were beautiful.  
  
She dropped him off in the middle of the Catskill mountains. "Not so many people, but lots of trees," he commented when he told her where he wanted to go. Then he leaned in close as though he was about to tell her a secret. "Trees don't yell 'ah! A daemon!' when they see me." He laughed at the image he had conjured in his own mind.  
  
"Kurt, promise me that when you're done soul searching that you'll come back to us. We could really use your help at the school."  
  
"I promise," the blue mutant sighed, his tail drooping slightly. It would be nice if she said that she needed him as well.  
  
Now he was swinging on the limb of a fir tree. BAMF! Now he was somersaulting through the air. BAMF! Eventually he came to rest on a low lying branch overlooking the gentle rolling of the Catskills. He took a deep breath in and stared out dreamily over the summer landscape. Perhaps another few days of paradise before he returned to reality.  
  
**********  
"Mmmm. Paradise." Beth Ann reveled in the luxury that she was treating herself to on her lunch break. It was a gorgeous day. She sat at a table just inside her favorite cafe, with a cup of chai latte sprinkled with chocolate, and a tuna sandwich. This was her favorite meal in the world. She took a deep a breath, filling her head with the smell of forsythia, which floated in from the open door. The little town that overlooked the Hudson River was picturesque. It reminded her of some paintings she saw in a museum once. She rarely had the option of living in a small town, jobs were scarcer, and it was more difficult to blend in than in a city. The Main Street was littered with small family run restaurants and coffee shops. Instead of the fuel and blacktop smell that she was used to, she smelled trees, cut grass, flowers, and whatever the daily lunch special was. Today, it was hamburgers.  
  
There was very little chai left in her cup. Beth Ann swirled it around to catch all of the chocolate silt that was left in the bottom, and then swallowed it. The cup went into a garbage can with a sad thud. Beth Ann hated it when she was finished with a treat like that. Still, her break was nearly over, and she had quite a walk to get back to the studio. She stretched her muscles and picked up what was left of her sandwich off the table.  
  
"Bye Larry, maybe I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Hope so sweetie. You're one the only people that eat my tuna sandwiches." Larry was an older man. He had lived in the town all his life. He had converted his father's old bar into a cafe recently, when cafes became very popular. He enjoyed the earlier shift, and he preferred coffee and tea to alcohol. His father had been killed by a drunk driver right outside of the bar. The driver was one of his own customers.  
  
People liked to talk to Beth Ann. She had hundreds of stories like Larry's stored away in her brain, and she never forgot a single one. Sometimes, she would write them down in her journal, but it wasn't necessary. She could recite all of the stories by heart(with a few embellishments of her own when appropriate of course). Sometimes she would tell other people the stories she knew, changing things a bit so that it seemed she was talking about her own life. It helped to gain people's trust if she had a past of her own.  
  
She thought about all the people that she met in her fairly short and transient life. Her mind wandered from one to the other in a random manner. She became so wrapped up in her thoughts that she was surprised to find herself standing in front of the studio. "Back to the grind," she grumbled. The door opened with the ringing of a bell.  
  
Something was wrong, and she knew it the second she walked into the office. Nancy was finishing up some paperwork, and she seemed relaxed enough, but the hairs on Beth Ann's neck stood up on end. It was a sixth sense that she had acquired from years of experience.  
  
Nancy looked up from her work and greeted Beth Ann with a smile. "Some gentlemen were looking for you while you were on break. They said it was very important."  
  
Beth Ann's heart began to beat faster. Her hands shook slightly and it felt like a den of snakes had taken up residence in her stomach. She tried to calm her self with a deep breath, and she asked, as nonchalantly as possible "Gentlemen? What did they want?"  
  
"They said it was urgent that they speak with you; an emergency at home? They wanted to know where you lived."  
  
It was now impossible to keep the panic from showing. Beth Ann's breathing became quick and shallow, and she was afraid that if she didn't calm down quickly, then she would pass out from hyperventilation. "Did you tell them?" she rasped.  
  
"Well yeah. It seemed important, so I told them you lived on State St., but I couldn't remember which number."  
  
"Nancy, I live on the other side of town. You know..." Then she got it.  
  
A nervous smile spread across Nancy's face. "There was something not right about those men. They looked like they worked in a funeral parlor, but I think I saw one of them had a gun."  
  
"Thank you." Beth Ann visibly relaxed. She had some time then to get out of town.  
  
Nancy looked on in concern. She lived in the city of 35 years before moving to the country. She didn't like to think that many things could phase her, but she felt very uneasy being in the same room as her co-worker at the moment. "Beth Ann, are you in some kind of trouble with the law?" she asked. She didn't want to believe it, but those men with the guns did look awfully official.  
  
Beth Ann shook her head. "It's worse than that," she shivered as she spoke. "They work for my father. I have to go."  
  
"You're leaving?"  
  
"Nancy, if those men come back, tell them the truth. You don't want to mess with them. They'll leave you alone as soon as they realize that I've left. On second thought," she reconsidered. "Close the studio. Tell Burt there was an emergency at home and I never showed up after break. He'll understand."  
  
"Well that's good, cause I sure as hell don't."  
  
Beth Ann looked sad. She hated this part of her life. She tried to pretend that it didn't exist until something like this happened and she was forced to deal with it. "I don't have time to explain. Just..." she couldn't even think of what to say. "Just take care of yourself, okay?"  
  
She exited the studio from the back entrance. She knew these men. They would be on State St. looking for her. They were too confident of their own ability to get information out of people, so they wouldn't have suspected Nancy of lying. Still, there was no point in taking risks by walking in plain view.  
  
Instead, she made her way to the municipal parking lot via the back alleys. She always had an emergency escape plan or two tucked up her sleeve for every situation. They had saved her more times than she could count.  
  
Her car, a non descript gray chevy that had definitely seen better days, was hidden towards the back of the parking lot. It was tucked between two broken delivery trucks that hadn't moved since she started working there. They kept her car well out of sight, just in case.  
  
She jumped in and sped off towards her apartment on the edge of town. As she drove, her instincts took over. She was still scared, but the panic had been replaced by purpose and a sense of urgency. There was no time for panic. She could panic later, when she was safe. For now, she needed to get her things and go as quickly as possible. There was no doubt that Nancy's deception bought her some time, and quite possibly saved her behind, but she knew that eventually the men with the guns would figure out what happened. They would find her soon. They always did.  
  
Her apartment building was not much to look at. That's why she liked it. Most people passed by without even seeing it. Her pursuers probably passed by it. She parked her car in back, out of sight of the street. She was out of her car and running towards the building, her mind constantly going over a checklist of the things that she needed to do. Pack the car, leave a note for Ruth( her landlady), hurry girl, there's no time to waste!  
  
Most of her things were still only half unpacked. She picked up clothes from the floor and from the plastic crate that she used as a dresser, throwing them all into a duffel bag. Next was her bathroom supplies; toothbrush and paste, soap, shampoo, a hairbrush, and a small case of makeup. They all went into the giant sized duffel along with her cloths. After that she went for her few personal items. Her bag was full, so she threw them into one of the plastic crates. There was a teddy bear that she had since she was five, a stack of her favorite books, some old journals, a portable CD player and a case of CDs that she collected over the years. She would leave the kitchen supplies behind. She had camping equipment and a cooler full of dried food in the back seat of her car. She was always prepared.  
  
Before leaving, she wrote a note to Ruth, asking her to turn off her utilities and apologizing for leaving. She left a stack of $20 bills that would cover what she owed for rent, and left over utility bills. Then she hoisted the large bag over her back. With that and her crate, she carefully made her way out to the car. It was a heavy load, and she was sure she looked ridiculous trying to carry it all at once.  
  
Her things went in the back seat. She plopped down in the front, already feeling exhausted. She opened her backpack, which was on the seat next to her. Inside was a can of soda that was suppose to help her get through work. By the time she passed the town limits, the soda was finished. She had a long way to go before she could stop, and she was going to need all the energy that she could get.  
  
**********  
  
It was getting dark. Beth Ann decided to take Rte 17 up through the mountains. Towns there were few and far between. She was hoping to find someplace remote enough to buy her a few days to decide what to do next.  
  
As the evening wore on, however, her plans changed slightly. The sun had set and she hadn't turned off of the main road yet. The chances of her finding a vacant hotel room were getting slimmer. She could either wander around the back roads till she found someplace to stop and rest in her car, or she could keep going through the night. She didn't like the last idea much. She would have to stop and rest sometime, and she much preferred to do it at night, when it was easier to hide.  
  
There was an exit two miles ahead. She didn't know what the town was called, and she didn't care. That would be her exit for the night. A truck passed her from behind and her hands began to shake again. Her nerves were understandably frayed. "Just keep it together until you find a place to stop. Then you can panic." She checked her rearview mirror out of habit. There were three sets of headlights behind her. They were still far away, but they were there. "It's not them," she whispered. She began repeating it over and over again. The mantra helped keep her focused. One more mile till her exit, she looked at her odometer. She kept a close eye on it until she had traveled a half mile further. She looked in her mirror again. The cars were still there, closer now.  
  
Beth Ann made her decision. They might not be anyone, or they might be her father's associates. She wasn't prepared to take any risks. She turned the lights off on her car. Straining to see where she was going in the darkness, she almost missed the turn off. Her tires squealed in protest, but she was now off the main road. She kept going, slowly crawling almost blindly down the turn off road. She wasn't going to turn her lights on until she was out of site of any prying eyes.  
  
A screeching sound behind her made her blood run cold. Three sets of head lights were closing in fast behind her. "Shit" she cursed loudly. She turned her lights back on and gunned the engine.  
  
Her beat up car was no match for the machines that were following her. Her father spared no expense when his mind was set on something. Her only chance was to somehow throw them off her track. She scanned the road ahead for any turns that might be drivable. Several country roads later, and they were still on her tail, and getting closer. "Damnit, damnit damnit!" She hit the steering wheel in frustration, which made her car skid slightly. The road she was on was covered in gravel instead of the usual asphalt, and she was driving much too fast to maintain traction on it. She was nearly in tears by the time she saw it. It wasn't a road. It looked like an ATV track that led off to the left. She swerved onto it at the last second. Behind her, she saw two sets of headlights pass her. The third managed to make the turn.  
  
She focused back on her driving. She just need one more chance. If she could throw the last car off for a few minutes, then she would have time to make a break for it on foot. It would have to be soon though. She had no delusions that the other two cars would soon be joining the chase again.  
  
It took five minutes of white knuckle maneuvering on the dirt track before she saw her chance. By then she was really surprised that she wasn't dead yet. She had come so close to crashing into the dense range of trees on either side of the track, that her mind had gone numb.  
  
"Yes!" Up ahead, the track split. She could turn off her lights again, become invisible, and take the left fork. She muttered a little prayer to any deities listening and turned off the lights. At the same moment, something hit her car hard from behind. Her Chevy swerved out of control. She blindly tried to regain control, but in the darkness she lost her sense of direction. Another impact, this time with an invisible tree, threw her slight form forward. Her head hit the steering wheel with a sickening crack and her mind slipped into black nothingness.  
  
**********  
  
Nightcrawler was dreaming. It was one of those rare times where he was actually having dreams instead of nightmares. Usually, his sleep was filled with images of metal bars, screaming, and a burning sensation on the back of his neck. Other times he relived those few moments in the White House when he turned into the daemon that he had always denied.  
  
Tonight however, he was flying. It wasn't the temporary weightless feeling that he got when he teleported, or even the sensation that he remembered from being on the trapeze. He used to say that that was like flying, but it was nothing like his dream. Flying felt powerful. He rocketed up over the trees and up towards the stars, powered by the strength of his own will. He felt elation surge through his veins as he looped upside down and back to the earth.  
  
Then there was a shift in reality, and he was perched on top of a lone mountain. There was nothing else around him but the clouds that swept beneath him, obscuring his view of the land. Above him, there were no stars, only the full moon. It was so close, that he thought he could touch it. Kurt reached up, and as his fingers brushed the cool yellow surface, he was delivered a shock the startled him right out of his sleep.  
  
He hit the ground with an unpleasant thud. He had fallen asleep in a tree earlier that evening. He looked around with yellow eyes, wondering with irritation, what had so rudely interrupted his wonderful dream.  
  
It was a full minute before he realized that the shock that he felt was actually just the product of his dream, and quite probably the scratching of the branches as he fell from his bed. It was a sound that woke him up; a crashing sound. How odd, he thought. He knew that there were no roads nearby, only some small vehicle tracks that no one used on a regular basis. He thought that maybe some drunk kids on motorcycles were in some trouble, but dismissed that theory quickly. Whatever crashed was bigger than a motorcycle.  
  
"Time to investigate, I think."  
  
Over the years, Kurt's night vision had developed exceptionally, and he needed no light to see where he was going. After only a minute of running, and the occasional smoky BAMF of a time saving teleport, he was at the scene.  
  
He found himself immediately thankful that he blended so well with the shadows. It gave him plenty of time to fully register the situation. There were four cars positioned along the ATV track. The three sleek black cars were still running and had their headlights trained on the fourth, which had it's front fender wrapped around a tree. Three men were pulling a girl from the wreckage while six others watched from the other cars. They all wore black suites, and Kurt assumed by the guns that they all carried, that they were not with the auto club.  
  
Nightcrawler's smile was almost feral, like a cat's smile when it spots a mouse. "A damsel in distress," he whispered. He was certain that the black-clad men were up to no good, and Kurt never refused the opportunity to play the hero. This was just too perfect.  
  
In a cloud of smokey sulfur, he vanished from his hiding place and reappeared beside the three men carrying the girl. He noticed then, that she was semi conscious. Her eyes were unfocused and only barely opened slits. There was a nasty looking gash on her forehead and she was groaning softly. She was certainly not fully aware of her situation.  
  
The men holding her were aware. They were aware that their mission had been accomplished and that they would soon be able to go home and collect their money. Then they were aware of the smell of rotten eggs, and a creature that looked like it had been delivered from the bowels of hell, which appeared out of nowhere. It was smiling at them.  
  
Beth Ann's father hired professionals to collect her, but even so, all nine of them stared, open mouthed at the impossibility that had just presented itself. Kurt waggled his three fingers in a friendly wave and made sure his smile exposed his pointed teeth. To complete the effect, he greeted them with a sensible "Guten abend, gentlemen."  
  
There was a click from behind him. One of the men stationed by the cars was aiming a gun at Kurt. With a sigh, Kurt vanished and reappeared behind the gunman. He picked the gun from his grip behind him, and shook his head. "Too easy," he complained, and teleported back to the three men with their prisoner.  
  
They finally began to stir from their shock. Whatever was happening, they were in jeopardy of loosing their captive. They had been chasing her for months without rest. They were not going to give her up easily. Two of the men let her go and formed a barrier between her and Kurt. The third man slung her over his shoulder in a fireman's hold. Unfortunately for him, she was beginning to come to, and her struggling was complicating things.  
  
Kurt was facing off with his opponents. In unison they attacked, kicking out in expert martial arts moves. The indigo man sidestepped one kick and grabbed the other man's foot with his tail. From this position, he swung one assailant into the other. Both men went sprawling to the ground.  
  
Kurt turned his attention to the third man and almost laughed out loud. He was backing away from Kurt while trying to maintain his hold on the now fully awake girl. Presently she was kicking his legs; it was obvious that she was aiming for a different target; and she was uttering a steady stream of curses at the man.  
  
There was the sound of five guns being cocked and aimed behind him. Kurt didn't waste time turning around. "Time to leave, I think." BAMF he was standing beside the goon with the girl. Kurt wrestled her free as the first shots were fired. He curled himself protectively around her and BAMF! He was gone, leaving eight very confused men, and one wounded by friendly fire.  
  
They teleported several times before Kurt thought it safe to stop. He wanted to make sure he was far enough away to avoid being discovered. He put the girl down and she instantly staggered away, emptying the contents of her stomach on a nearby bush.  
  
Kurt smiled weakly and apologized. "It is not a very pleasant ride." It wasn't easy on him either. Teleporting all that way with a passenger was an effort which left him winded.  
  
**********  
  
Beth Ann was disoriented. Once her stomach had stopped it's violent heaving, her mind began to attempt rational thought. It was difficult when reality seemed to have been put on hold. She remembered the crash. That was the last thing that made any sense. She came back to consciousness, she thought, but was confronted with the image of a big blue elf. Still out cold, she told herself. After some effort, she managed to clear her head again. This time she was slung over the back of Brady. She recognized him from his cologne. She knew the names of several of her father's associates. Brady was as rotten as they came. Once, a little over a year ago, he came close to capturing her on his own. He thought he would have a little fun with her before taking her back. She escaped of course, but now her feet were struggling for the opportunity for some well placed revenge, and she was hurling all manner of obscenities questioning his mother's virtue.  
  
There was fighting. Who is fighting, she wondered distantly. She managed several close kicks to Brady, but he didn't seem to be aware of her anymore. Someone was pulling her away from him. Blue hands wrapped around her and reality was twisted upside down and inside out. She got the distinct impression that she suddenly didn't exist, and just as suddenly she existed again. This happened several times. Each time her body protested with growing waves of nausea.  
  
And then it all stopped. She was set on the ground, and all she could think of was letting her body take over. She hoped that once her stomach was empty, the nausea would pass, but she was afraid that that made too much sense to actually happen.  
  
"The feeling will pass quickly." There was somebody behind her. His voice was soft and apologetic, and carried with it a German accent. She recognized it from before, when she was not quite awake. A hand rested on her shoulder to comfort her. It was a blue hand. The images that she was trying to disregard as hallucination came flooding back to her. She spun wildly on her heals, almost falling over. A hand steadied her and then pulled away.  
  
Beth Ann found herself staring into a pair of yellow eyes and a set of sharp white teeth. At first it was difficult to see anything else. It was so dark! Then, slowly, a shape emerged from the darkness. It was the shape of a man, but his ears were pointed, and his hands and feet looked deformed and...was that a tail? She quickly realized that it was not the shadows that turned the man's skin dark blue. He was really blue. That realization was quickly followed by another. He was the one that saved her from her father's men.  
  
She managed a weak "Thank you," before sitting heavily on the ground.  
  
"I am sorry for my alarming appearance. My name is Kurt Wagner, though in the Munich circus I was known as the Incredible Nightcrawler." He struck a dramatic pose out of habit, and then remembered where he was. "I don't mean to frighten." His voice was intentionally soft; an attempt to soothe fears, she realized. She looked back at the strange figure before her. Something in her memory was triggered.  
  
"You look familiar," she said, trying to identify the nagging feeling at the back of her mind. She noticed him shift uncomfortably under her close scrutiny. Then, all at once she was on her feet, her vertigo, headache, and nausea temporarily forgotten. "You're the guy that tried to kill the president!" She remembered the artist's sketch in the newspaper. How many pointy eared, blue people could there be out there?  
  
Kurt looked at the ground in shame. He remembered that day very clearly. He remembered how unreal it all seemed at the time; like a nightmare that he couldn't wake up from. He knew that he was being influenced by Stryker's drugs, and that he could not be held accountable for his actions, but deep in his soul, he felt responsible. Head still bowed, he asked "Would you believe me if I said that I was not myself on that day?"  
  
Beth Ann watched him very closely. It was time to put her abilities to the test. His eyes met with hers while his head remained bowed. His feet were firmly planted, and his breathing was quickly returning to a slow, steady pattern from his earlier exertions. Then he sighed, almost imperceptibly. His eyes dropped back to the ground and his shoulders sagged. He didn't expect her to believe him. He had hoped, but his posture spoke of resignation. Even though it was apparent to him that she wouldn't trust him, there was no indication that he was about to attack, or to run. He was allowing her to control the situation.  
  
At last she concluded "I believe you."  
  
Kurt looked up sharply in surprise.  
  
"Pardon me for saying so, but you don't seem like the assassin type."  
  
He laughed quietly, almost silently, at her explanation, his pointed white teeth standing in stark contrast to his dark skin. Beth Ann liked the way he laughed. It was honest and open. So many people laughed in order to hide something. They laughed to hide their nervousness or they laughed at others to hide their own insecurities. Worst of all were the people who laughed to hide their own cruelty. Brady laughed a lot. Kurt laughed to express his delight. Beth Ann decided then that she could trust this odd character.  
  
"My name's Beth Ann. Thanks for helping me, Kurt." Her vision began to swim again, and her head began began to pound. She closed her eyes and her face paled as she tried to control the pain. "Is there a place I can hide and rest for the night?"  
  
Concerned, he replied "Of course," then took her arm to offer his support. "It is not far from here. We can walk."  
  
"Good," Beth said, a little more emphatically than she intended. "I mean, I don't think my stomach could handle doing...what was that anyway?"  
  
Kurt began to guide her through the trees as he explained. "I can teleport. It is quite useful at times, though unfortunately, not very pleasant for passengers."  
  
"You're telling me." She felt him shake quietly with laughter again, though all she could hear was the faint escape of air.  
  
**********  
  
Kurt brought her to the mouth of a small cave. He had discovered it two days earlier and set up camp inside after making sure it had no other pointy-toothed residents.  
  
There was no light inside the cave, so he had to lead Beth Ann in by the hands. He couldn't see any better than she could in the complete absence of light, but he remembered where everything was.  
  
He stopped her after only a few paced and asked her to wait. There was the sound of movement; of shoeless feet padding on the rock floor. Then a flash of light from a battery powered lamp spread across the ground to the walls and the low ceiling of the cave.  
  
Beth Ann looked around at the humble campsite. There was an extinguished fire pit, near the mouth of the cave. Further in, were a few cooking supplies, two blankets that were spread on the ground, and a camping pack. Beth Ann took in her surroundings and asked hesitantly, "You live here?"  
  
"No," Kurt laughed and shook his head. "Just visiting. I needed some time to think, and what better place?" He took her hand and in his best Errol Flynn voice said "Milady, would you care to have a seat?" He guided her over to the blankets and let her hold his hand to steady herself as she sat down. She really wasn't feeling very well.  
  
Kurt moved quickly over to the camping pack and pulled out a first aid kit, marked with a red cross. He went to work quickly cleaning her head wound and bandaging it. He winced in sympathy when he applied the antiseptic. That was the worst part, he knew from experience.  
  
When he was done, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you still in pain?"  
  
She nodded "A little." She was getting tired, and her eyelids were drooping.  
  
"I have some painkillers in here." He fished through the box until he pulled out a bottle and read the label with a little difficulty. "Ibuprofen."  
  
Beth Ann shook her head. "I'm actually allergic. It's okay, just give me a few minutes." She turned her back to him to allow herself the illusion of privacy. This was something she had never done in front of people before. She sat cross legged, with her back straight and took a deep breath.  
  
Kurt watched Beth Ann with curiosity which turned to fascination as she began to hum. She started on a low relaxed note and slowly began to adjust it. It was such a slow transformation, that at first, Kurt didn't even realize that the pitch was changing, but gradually it sank lower and lower, into a range that he didn't think possible for Beth Ann's voice to reach. Her closed mouth began to open to form a perfect, resonant "Oh" sound. There, her voice stayed for nearly fifteen minutes.  
  
The sound worked it's way into Kurt's own mind, loosening thoughts and worries that he wasn't even aware burdened him. He felt the pressure in his temples caused by daily stress float away. Soon all his muscles began to relax slightly and his breathing slowed without conscious effort. A whimsical smile spread across his face as the sound faded away.  
  
"Wow," he breathed.  
  
It took another minute before Beth Ann turned around. The look on her face told Kurt that the effects of her humming were far more profound on her. Her entire body was relaxed and confident, her eyes clear and focused, and her breath slow and steady. There was no indication of the pain and discomfort that she felt only minutes before.  
  
She saw Kurt smiling and staring at her in wonder, and became very self conscious. She began to inspect the dirt on her shoes to distract herself and to keep from blushing at the attention.  
  
"I do not wish to be rude, but might I ask what it was that you just did?"  
  
"It's called toning. I read about it in a book once." Beth Ann was both hesitant and eager. She had never shared this part of her life before. She spent a lot of energy to keep it hidden in order to protect herself. She somehow thought that Kurt would not be threat to her safety. He was obviously a mutant, so maybe he could sympathize with her.  
  
Suddenly, all of the secrets that she kept locked up for years came crashing over her with the desire to be released, and she began to talk. "See, vibrations can do a whole lot of things. You've heard of ultrasonic vibrations breaking apart kidney stones? Well, they can do a lot more than that. These guys discovered that the vibrations caused by your own voice can affect your health and mental state. Different pitches and frequencies and even vowel sounds can affect how you feel. I even read about one guy who used to help cure himself of cancer.  
  
"I practiced, and I taught myself how to do it."  
  
"You are very good at it," Kurt beamed.  
  
"Thanks." They were both silent, lost in their own thoughts. Beth Ann became transfixed by the artificial light of the lamp and the shadows it cast. She wondered how much she should tell this strange man. She wanted to tell him everything, but she was afraid of what might happen.  
  
Kurt was contemplating his next question. He was absolutely certain that there was more to this girl than just humming, but he was afraid that certain questions might offend her, or worse, frighten her away. He decided to approach the subject in a circuitous way.  
  
"I told you that I was in the circus?"  
  
Beth Ann nodded. She noticed that he was now holding a string of rosary beads' running his fingers over them slowly, almost out of habit. He seemed to draw some strength from them, and for an instant, she wished she had something like that.  
  
"At first, I didn't choose the circus. The circus chose me. It was the only place where I was safe. In the towns and villages they called me a monster. I was just a little child, but to them, I was more a monster than any killer. The circus became my family, and kept me safe. Family is important, ja?"  
  
The black haired girl across from him snorted. "Depends on the family, I suppose."  
  
Kurt nodded in agreement. "I left Germany to find my fortune. I wanted to be world famous! A foolish dream." He smiled sadly, remembering what little he could.  
  
"Men captured me while I was living in Boston. They made me do things that I would never do. They turned me into the monster that the villagers all feared. I was lucky. I could have killed someone." The blue mutant pondered before he continued his story.  
  
"I was also lucky because not long after that, I found a new family. They are like me...different. I live at a school now for people with gifts, and we keep each other safe."  
  
Beth Ann gazed off into space. "Must be nice," she commented, finding it hard to keep the bitterness out of her voice.  
  
"Tell me, Beth Ann. Those men that were after you...they weren't interested in your lovely singing voice. What is it that you can do?"  
  
"How..." She left the question unasked. It seemed that she wouldn't get a choice regarding how much she was going to tell her rescuer. She laughed at the irony. "You know, I used to think I was the best there is at reading people. I could always tell what's going on inside a person's head, and I could always hide what was going on inside of mine. Maybe I'm not the best, though." She looked at him for emphasis. He had obviously impressed her. For Kurt's part, he remained silent, waiting for her to open up slowly, in her own time.  
  
"I can do more than just hum, but in a way that's all it really is. Vibrations can be very powerful things if you know how to use them the right way. I'm just really good at using them." To demonstrate, she placed her hand over Kurt's. He pulled away in surprise when it felt like an electrical current passed through her hand, into his.  
  
"I can generate high frequency vibrations that feel like electricity, and low frequency vibrations that could make the walls of this cave rattle. I don't use it much. Sometimes I'll use it with my voice, like you saw. Sometimes I use it to give really charged up back massages." She smiled mischievously at some nearly forgotten memory. "I've got magic fingers, I've been told." Then she wiggled all of her fingers in the air mysteriously, to illustrate her point. They both laughed at the brief display of silliness.  
  
"You have a good laugh," Kurt commented. "You should do that more often. It is good for the soul, so they say."  
  
"Yeah well. You don't get much chance to laugh with the goon patrol after you all the time." Beth Ann slumped against the cave wall, arms folded in front of her in a very defensive posture.  
  
"What do they want with you?"  
  
Beth Ann didn't want to answer that question. She didn't want to talk about that part of her life because she didn't want to relive it. But her story was already started, and now she couldn't stop herself.  
  
"They work for my father.  
  
"Both my parents worked for a big genetics research company with military funding. They were studying the 'mutant problem' before I knew what a mutant was.  
  
"I know they loved me, but sometimes it was hard. They held stuff in. They weren't very good with expressing their anger, so they just bottled it all up. Sometimes it became too much and one of them would just explode. My father was the worst. He would get violent. My mother just tended to yell.  
  
"Anyway, I learned very young how to read them. It was a survival instinct. I knew when they were about to blow up, and I usually tried not to be anywhere near them when they did." Beth Ann took a deep breath, and Nightcrawler listened attentively in respectful silence.  
  
"Things were going pretty alright until a little after I turned twelve. That's when this..." she buzzed him again with a pseudo-shock. "...started up. I knew what my parents did for a living. They tried to shield me from most of it, but I was still afraid of what they would do if they found out I was a mutant, so I hid it.  
  
"Then, when I was sixteen, I got into an argument with my father. I wanted to go to a party and he said no. I was so mad, I didn't even see the warning signs. I didn't know what was happening until he hit me. He hit me so hard, and I started screaming. My mother must have been there, but I didn't even notice her. I wouldn't have done it if I knew she was there." Her face was haunted and her breathing became shallow. She was reliving that day; seeing everything as though it was happening in front of her.  
  
"He kept hitting me and there was so much screaming, and I just wanted him to back up. I wanted him to be scared like I was, so I started to shake." Tears slipped down her cheeks without a sound. "The whole house collapsed on top of us. The rescuers thought it was a freak earthquake. My father and I survived."  
  
She didn't say what happened to her mother, but Kurt knew what must have happened. His hand, which was covering hers, traveled up to her shoulder, and he folded her into a consoling embrace. She accepted the kindness and cried into his shoulder. It had been so long since she let herself cry. She spent so much of her energy running from her past; trying to forget that it ever existed. In some ways, she was a lot like her parents; always blocking her emotions and pushing them away. She pushed that shocked realization away. That was an issue for another time.  
  
She pulled away from Kurt and calmed her shaking breath. "I woke up in the hospital, and they told me what happened. They didn't suspect me, but I knew my father did. I didn't wait around long enough to find out what he'd do about his mutant daughter. I thought running would be enough. Then the goons started showing up. No matter where I go they find me, and they're not going to stop till they take me back to my father. I don't even know what he wants; if he wants to punish me for what I did, or to..." she shuddered, "...experiment on me."  
  
There was a long pause between them. Eventually Kurt broke the silence. "Bitte, there is something that is still confusing to me. If you can make such strong vibrations, why do you not defend yourself when these men come for you?"  
  
Beth Ann looked up sharply. "I killed my mother! I will never use my power like that again, I don't care what it costs me."  
  
Kurt's heart broke at the pain in her voice and her face. This girl had been running for so long. She had no family and though her spirit was obviously strong, some day it would break.  
  
He yawned and forced a lightness to his voice. "It is very late, and we will be safe here tonight. What I said about family is true, even for yourself. There is a place for you at the school, if you will accept it. You will be safe there, and you will have a family that cares for you."  
  
Beth Ann considered what he said. "What's it like there?"  
  
"Oh very nice; like living in a castle, but with many teenagers. They can be a little much sometimes."  
  
"Sounds like my kind of place." The young woman yawned, her exhaustion finally catching up with her. She tried to find a patch of the cave wall that was smooth enough to lean up against, but that was proving difficult.  
  
Kurt sat beside her. "You may use me as a pillow, if you like."  
  
Beth Ann curled up next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. "Chivalry's not dead," she murmured distantly. Then, she surrendered her battle against sleep, peacefully.  
  
**********  
  
Consciousness returned slowly to Beth Ann. It seemed more preoccupied with the argument that it was having with reality, than with making an appearance in her life. "It was all a dream, so just shut up and go away," her consciousness insisted, but reality has an annoying habit of sticking around when you least want it to.  
  
Eventually, her eyes opened. The lamp had been turned off, but faint light filtered in from the mouth of the cave, and the obnoxious sound of bird song hammered into her temples. She wanted to fall back asleep, but she knew that once she heard birds, she would be awake for good.  
  
Nightcrawler was still sleeping peacefully. She could feel the slow rise and fall of his breathing next to her. It was with some surprise that she realized that his tail was wrapped around her waist. It must have happened sometime after she fell asleep. She wondered with amusement whether he was awake or not when he did it.  
  
"Why is my life so surreal?"  
  
Her voice disturbed Kurt's sleep. His eyes still closed, he stretched his arms high in the air and uncurled his tail. "Guten morgen," he remarked brightly.  
  
Oh God, Beth Ann realized with near disgust. Not only was I rescued by a blue teleporting circus mutant last night, but he's a morning person too! She groaned as the two of them started stretching the cramped muscles they received from camping on a cold stone floor.  
  
"I would make breakfast, but the fire smoke would attract unwanted attention." Beth Ann looked at the cold fire pit near the cave mouth and silently agreed. Despite that, she desperately wanted some coffee, or at least some tea.  
  
She sighed heavily, resigned to a morning without caffeine, and distracted herself by watching Kurt pack his camping equipment. Too damned chipper, she thought when he began to whistle.  
  
Kurt finished packing quickly, and the two of them head out into the woods. Beth Ann followed behind her rescuer, who seemed to know exactly where he was going. Good thing, she considered. With everything that happened last night and all the teleporting, I haven't a clue where we are, or where the car is.  
  
After an hour of walking, she started to doubt whether Kurt knew where he was going either. "Hey, I know that I was a little out of it last night, but I don't remember walking more than ten minutes."  
  
"Ja, we teleported quite a distance. If you are tired we could..."  
  
"No," she interrupted before he got a chance to suggest they teleport again. "I'm not tired in the slightest. Just curious."  
  
Kurt chuckled quietly. Beth Ann couldn't hear him, but she could see his shoulders shake slightly. "Do not worry, we're almost there."  
  
He wasn't exaggerating either. After three more minutes of walking, he stopped, and waited for Beth Ann to stop next to him. He dropped his camping gear and told her "It is just over that rise. Stay here and I will make sure the men are gone."  
  
Beth Ann coughed as the smoke of his teleport filled her lungs. "Warn me...when you're about to...do that!" she complained between one hacking cough and the next.  
  
**********  
  
Kurt rematerialized in a tree overlooking the scene of the accident. The black cars were gone and there didn't appear to be any men nearby. Beth Ann's front fender did seem to be rather severely damaged, and he hoped they would be able to get the vehicle started.  
  
He surveyed the area around the car. There were some places where the trees and underbrush were very thick. They would be perfect places to hide if someone were staging an ambush. "Come out come out wherever you are." His sing song voice was quiet, so as not to attract any attention. He then proceeded to teleport from one hiding spot to another, checking for unwanted observers.  
  
**********  
  
Beth Ann was getting a little nervous. It was taking Kurt too long to return. It shouldn't take any time at all for him to make sure the goons were gone, but it had been at least ten minutes.  
  
"Come on Kurt. Please be okay." She didn't know what she should do. If he didn't show up soon, she would have to go looking for him. She knew that she would probably be walking into a trap, but she couldn't just stand there in the middle of the woods forever. What if the goons had trapped him. She was terrified of what her father would do to her if he ever caught her, but what about Kurt? He was a mutant on a whole different level. She couldn't let anything happen to him after what he had done for her.  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rustling leaves. Her heart filled with dread. Oh God! Kurt would just materialize in front of me. Something terrible has happened! She was certain that the rustling was an approaching goon.  
  
She looked desperately around her for someplace to hide or for a weapon. There was a heavy looking branch laying next to her feet that would do. When she picked it up however, it fell apart with decay.  
  
There was another rustling which sounded closer than before. Then again, but this time it sounded like it was coming from up above. "What the hell?" she breathed and gazed into the trees. The final sound came from behind as tree branches above her were shaken with some force. She spun wildly as Nightcrawler landed with a gentle thud and a flourish behind her.  
  
He caught her fist before it managed to connect with his chest. She struggled, still operating on instinct for a minute, but calmed down when she heard his German accented voice. "Beth Ann it is me!"  
  
"You scared the hell out of me," she shouted. Then for good measure, she kicked him in the shin and pulled her wrist out of his grasp. "I thought something happened to you. I thought you were one of the goons. You nearly gave me a heart attack you creep!" She paced back and forth, trying to get her heart to slow down.  
  
"Es tut mir leid. It was a mean trick. I should not have done it."  
  
"Damn right. Don't ever do treat to me again!"  
  
Kurt held up his right hand and said "I swear it!"  
  
"Good." Beth Ann let out a sigh of frustration. "So how's the car?"  
  
"Unguarded. I am unsure if it is drivable."  
  
They both went to investigate. Beth Ann pulled open the driver's door and found the keys on the floor of the car. She couldn't remember how they got there. It didn't matter. She found the right one and turned it in the ignition. The engine groaned to life, and both mutants let out a sigh of relief. It took another twenty minutes of effort to get the car unwrapped from the tree. The front fender was nearly unrecognizable, and it was hanging by just a few metallic threads, but the car didn't need to be pretty, it just needed to go.  
  
Kurt jumped into the passenger seat and wiggled, uncomfortably trying to find a place for his tail, while Beth Ann backed out of the small clearing and onto the ATV track. Neither one of them saw a figure emerge from underneath a carefully concealed camouflage net and speak into a cell phone. "They're moving," he confirmed, and then waited to be picked up by one of the hidden cars.  
  
**********  
  
The injured car pulled back onto Rte 17 with a lurch and a loud protest. Beth Ann checked her rear view mirror, half out of habit, and half because she was still nervous about being followed.  
  
Kurt had found her collection of CD's and was idly thumbing through them when he asked "So exactly where is it that we are going?"  
  
Beth Ann spent most of their hike in the woods thinking about that. Where was she going? It hadn't mattered to her for so long. The question as to where she was going was always best answered as far away as possible, but now this blue man offered her another option. They were heading back east. "This school you mentioned, in Westchester; can you tell me how to get there?"  
  
With a smile, Kurt responded "Yes, I believe so. Though I usually get there by jet it seems."  
  
Beth Ann's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Just what kind of school is this?"  
  
"One of a kind. You will like it there, and they could use someone with your healing skills."  
  
"Don't they have a doctor or a nurse of their own?"  
  
Kurt was silent for a long while. He hadn't know Jean for very long, but when she read his mind, she shared a good deal of herself with him. He mourned for her, just as he would a lifelong friend, and the thought of her death still grieved him.  
  
"We did have a doctor, but she died recently. It was a great loss." His voice was softer than usual, almost reverent, and Beth Ann saw him fingering his rosary out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"I'm sorry for your loss."  
  
Kurt turned to her and smiled. She was really getting to like that smile. "It is alright. She died saving lives, just as she lived. And she's still up here." He pointed to his head and laughed inwardly at the private joke he had made.  
  
He put the case of CDs down, no longer in the mood for music, and looked out the window.  
  
"Oh, listen," Beth Ann commented. "There's a cooler in the back seat with food in it, if you want some."  
  
Kurt twisted his body in the front seat so that he could reach the back. He opened the cooler and started rummaging around the bags and containers of chips, dried fruit, cereal, granola bars and soda.  
  
"Could you pass me a soda?"  
  
Kurt turned to the thin wiry girl sitting next to him. "It is ten in the morning," he scolded.  
  
"It's early. I'm tired. And I haven't had any caffeine yet today. Oh, if there are any more pop tarts, I'll take one of those too."  
  
Nightcrawler shook his head. He grew up in a circus and he ate better than that. Still, he handed her the requested items and pulled a bag of dried apples out for himself. They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, and then began to relate stories of their adventures. Beth Ann told Kurt about the places she'd been and some of her daring near escapes from her father's men. She relished the chance to actually talk about it, since for most of her life she had to hide those details from her acquaintances. Kurt, in turn told her about his days as the Munich Circus sensation, and about his friends at Xavier's school.  
  
They had been driving and talking for nearly an hour, and were just about to leave the mountains when Beth Ann saw an exit sign advertising a Mom And Pop's Diner and gas station. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, suddenly aware of several things.  
  
"Kurt, I'm going to pull over here, okay."  
  
He looked at her in question.  
  
"Well, we're low in gas, and I could really use a toilet, a sink, a cup of coffee, and a real breakfast."  
  
He nodded. "You know, all this caffeine will stunt your growth." He looked over Beth Ann's 5'2" frame and gave her a toothy grin.  
  
"Shut up," she growled irritably, and pulled onto the exit road.  
  
She didn't say anything, but she was worried about what would happen when Kurt walked into the diner. She was pretty sure these people had never seen such a unique individual. Plus, he had been in the papers as the mutant assassin. The last thing they needed right now was trouble.  
  
It wasn't until they pulled up to the gas station, that Kurt plucked a small device off of his belt. Beth Ann hadn't even noticed it before, but it looked a little like a pager. He pushed a button and sent Beth Ann into such a shock, she almost lost control of the car and crashed for the second time in two days.  
  
Where just seconds ago sat the blue, elf like creature that she knew, now sat a perfectly unremarkable man. He was handsome, with dark black hair and brown eyes. He still had Kurt's smile though. That was unmistakable.  
  
"Kurt?" Her voice was barely a whisper.  
  
"Sorry, forgot to warn you. The Professor gave it to me. It is a hologram. I don't like to use it really, but perhaps under the circumstances, it would be best."  
  
"Okay, but we have to work on this communication thing. You're going to end up getting me killed before we even get to Westchester with all of these surprises."  
  
The altered mutant had the good graces to look down in embarrassment.  
  
After filling the car up with gas, they decided to walk from the gas station to the diner next door. Kurt wanted to walk a bit to stretch his legs, and the gas station had some parking in back that could not be seen from the main road.  
  
They took their time walking through the gravel and dirt parking lot that separated the gas station and diner. Beth And listened to the wind blowing through the trees and the gravel crunching under her feet and thought for the first time about what she was doing. She was going to a school full of mutants; possibly a home. She wasn't sure she really believed this would be permanent. I mean come on, she thought to herself. You're going on the word of a suspected murder that's blue and has fangs and a tail and...  
  
That's when she noticed something. "Um, Kurt?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"If that's a hologram, then..." she mocked a stage whisper "...what happened to your tail?"  
  
Kurt looked down to his lower half. There was definitely no sign of his tail. Then a tail-shaped piece of his left pant leg uncoiled from his leg and waved at her in a friendly way before recoiling and vanishing back into the fabric. "It gets cramped if I stay like this for too long, but it is a good disguise."  
  
This time it was Beth Ann's turn to laugh out loud. "It's one surprise after another with you, isn't it?"  
  
"Ja!"  
  
The diner was pretty congested with the lunch time crowd. Most of the customers looked looked like they worked out doors, with weathered faces and suspicious gazes. At first, Beth Ann thought the eyes were all turned towards Kurt, and for one terrified moment she was afraid that perhaps his hologram wasn't working, then she realized that they were staring at her. She must have looked terrible, with the bandage on her head, unkempt hair, day old cloths and dirt coated arms and face. Kurt's hologram kept him looking very presentable.  
  
"Why don't you get a seat? I'm going to use the ladies' room."  
  
She watched Kurt select a booth in a corner where they wouldn't't attract much attention, and then shuffled off to the bathrooms. She did the best she could to make herself look presentable with what little she had to work with. She used up nearly all the soap in the dispenser to scrub her face and arms, and dried herself with paper towels. Then she undid what was left of her long black braids, and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to loosen some of the worst knots and tangles. She pulled it all back in one pony tail to try and contain it.  
  
She inspected herself in the mirror and winced at the reflection that stared back at her. Despite her best efforts, her hair still looked like a rat's nest, and dirt still clung around the bandage on her forehead. Her vivid green eyes were dull and ringed from too little sleep and her clothes had definitely seen better days. Wish I had a hologram, she thought. Oh well. Can't be helped.  
  
She found Kurt in the booth, hiding behind a menu. "It's a menu, not a best seller," she commented.  
  
Kurt nearly jumped out of the seat. He had been so engrossed with the menu that he hadn't heard her approach. "It has just been a while since I ate something I did not cook."  
  
"I don't know your cooking, but I'm not sure this is going to be any better." She had been on the road for a long time and she recognized a greasy spoon when she saw one. This one fit the description perfectly. There was a counter with red vinyl stools and several plates that had yet to be cleaned up. At the end was an unattended cash register and a little radio that was valiantly attempting to blast country music. A thin woman in her mid forties, with jeans, a faded blue blouse, and an apron ferried orders and plates between the customers and the large, rather angry looking man in the kitchen. The customers, after their initial fascination with Beth Ann's appearance, kept their eyes on their plates for the most part.  
  
The waitress took their order with a minimum of etiquette. Beth Ann ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and a large coffee. Kurt ordered a breakfast platter that seemed to have a little of everything.  
  
When the food came, both travelers became silently engrossed in eating. They felt half starved, and although Beth Ann was correct about the quality, they ate with more enthusiasm than the cook had ever seen.  
  
Beth Ann was finished with her sandwich and picking food off of Kurt's plate, when she began to feel very uncomfortable and uneasy. Something wasn't quite right. She looked at Kurt, to see if he had noticed anything. He was staring at a point behind her, his face frozen and passive.  
  
"What is it?" Beth Ann whispered. She was about to turn around and see, but Kurt restrained her.  
  
"Don't look. They don't see you yet, and they don't recognize me. There are five of them." His gaze shifted to the large window behind her and to the right. It overlooked the parking lot. "There are four cars this time," he added.  
  
Beth Ann cursed herself for being careless. She didn't know how they possibly found her so quickly, but even so, she let her guard down. Now her exit was blocked and her back was turned. She felt the hackles on the back of her neck rise, and the pit of her stomach coil into snakes again. Her mind was desperately calculating one escape plan after another, but each one required her to turn around and face her antagonists.  
  
Kurt placed a reassuring hand over hers. In the other, she noticed that he squeezed his rosary. "Let us give them a show then," he said. "I will distract them, and you run out with everyone else. Go to the car, and drive to the road. I will join you there."  
  
Beth Ann was about to protest. She didn't like someone playing the hero for her. She couldn't stand the thought of anyone getting hurt to protect her.  
  
Kurt saw the indecision in her eyes. "We need the car. There will be other men outside, so do not let them see you. Be surrounded by the others and look panicked."  
  
"That shouldn't be too hard."  
  
He didn't give her any more time for doubt. He was gone in a puff of smoke. Beth Ann couldn't help but turn around, when she heard the implosion of air behind her. There was Nightcrawler, in all his alarming blueness, standing beside a knot of black suited goons.  
  
There was a beat of silence as every person in the diner turned to see what was going on, and then another as their minds tried to process what they were seeing. Then, pandemonium struck. Men and women screamed in terror as they jumped from their seats and scrambled for the doors. The goons, recognizing Kurt from the night before reformed so that they were all back to back in a circle, to protect themselves and each other from any attack he might attempt.  
  
Those that were facing him aimed their guns, completely unconcerned for the pedestrians that were pushing and scrambling for the partially blocked door. Kurt crouched down in an aggressive manner, and Beth Ann was certain that she heard a growl come from deep in his throat. She was transfixed by what was going on, and despite the danger she was in in, she temporarily forgot that she was supposed to be escaping.  
  
Less than a second before they started shooting, Kurt vanished and reappeared on top of the lunch counter. One of the fleeing bystanders was accidentally shot in the arm by a suited men, and a look of guilt flickered briefly over Kurt's face, before he returned his attention to the task at hand.  
  
The sound of the first gunshots galvanized Beth Ann into action. She joined the back of the crowd that was still pushing to get out, but also trying to stay as far away from the men with the guns and the blue creature as possible.  
  
Before she reached the door, she saw Kurt vanish and reappear several different times, executing very complex acrobatic maneuvers. He was drawing the attention and the aim of the gunmen away from the crowd, giving everyone a chance to get away. The last thing she saw, was Kurt materialize in a low crouch right next to one of the gunmen. His tail snaked out and wrapped around the goon's leg, pulling him off his feet. The man went down and his head hit bounced on the linoleum floor. Beth Ann smiled with satisfaction as she exited the building.  
  
The rest of the black suited men had been waiting in their cars, but were now trying to fight their way through the crowd to get inside and help their associates. Beth Ann turned her face away from them, hoping that no one noticed her. It seemed for now that they weren't paying any attention to the mass of panicked customers.  
  
Beth Ann made it back to the car in record time. As she neared it, she noticed an odd shadow on the front fender. It was something she wouldn't have seen if she wasn't wondering how her father men were tracking her so well.  
  
She skidded to her knees in front of the damaged fender and reached underneath to the shadow. Whatever it was, it was vibrating ever so slightly, like a low electrical transmission. "A tracking device?" She should have been more careful when they got back to the car that morning. She should have suspected this. She tried to vibrate the device off the fender, but instead managed to shake the whole fender off the car. "Just my luck," she grumbled, but paid little attention. Her car's appearance wasn't a top priority with her right now.  
  
They left the doors unlocked earlier, which saved valuable seconds now. She threw herself into the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition. Cars and pick-up trucks pulled out of the parking lot and hurried away. Beth Ann seemed to be the only one trying to get closer to the diner.  
  
"Head for the road, he says. Like that's going to happen." Despite Kurt's orders, she wasn't going to leave him alone with all those goons.  
  
As she pulled up to t he diner, she noticed that there was only one black suited man left outside. He was looking nervously at the door, so he didn't notice her at first, assuming that she was just one of the fleeing cars. She knew that wouldn't last for long. She pulled right along the front window of the diner and began to furiously honk her horn. "Come on Kurt, get your tail out here," she muttered nervously. She could see the action inside, but there were too many people trying to do too many things. Her mind couldn't process it all. She glanced over at the one remaining goon. Her horn had attracted his attention, and was getting out of his car. "Hurry up." She honked the horn again, more desperately this time. The man pulled out his gun as he walked towards the car. "Shit," she squeaked, her hand going for the gear shift. Perhaps she could run the man over.  
  
Just then there was an audible BAMF, and her car filled with the smell of sulfur. Beth Ann didn't wait for another second. She floored the pedal and felt the tires work furiously to find a purchase on the loose gravel underneath. Then all at once the car took off, speeding towards the main road with reckless desperation.  
  
It wasn't until the diner was far behind them, that the smell of brimstone was replaced with a strong coffee odor, and she noticed that Kurt was hunched over in his seat, his body tense and his jaw clenched.  
  
"You're hurt." It wasn't a question, but a concerned realization.  
  
Kurt nodded. "Then men with the guns missed me, but not the cook with the pot of boiling hot coffee." He reached one hand over his left shoulder to the middle of his back. Beth Ann could see that his coat was torn in several places and wet with what she hoped was just coffee. He gingerly pulled out a large piece of glass which was stained red. A Quiet hiss escaped through his teeth as he did it, he made no other sounds of protest.  
  
"How bad is it?" The darkness of his cloths and skin made it impossible to tell how bad his injuries were.  
  
"Not bad." He looked better now that the glass was gone from his back. He was breathing easier. "Just a little burned from the coffee."  
  
"You smell good, though." Beth Ann smirked and Kurt wrinkled his nose. "That is good, because it will be a long time before I can get the smell out."  
  
"Damn!" Beth Ann was looking in the rear view mirror again. The black cars were coming up fast behind them. "They just don't give up! Hang on Kurt." The car sped up under her determined insistence. It began to shudder with effort. She kept one eye on the rear view mirror and one on the road in front of her, and realized with grim resignation that they would not be able to outrun their pursuers.  
  
She shook her head in frustration. "We're going to have to try to loose them on the back roads."  
  
Kurt looked at her in alarm. "Is that not what you were attempting when you crashed last night?"  
  
"Yep." Beth Ann refused to look at him. She refused to acknowledge the futility of their situation. Most importantly, she refused to listen to the voice in the back of her head that was telling her she failed again.  
  
Kurt was still concerned about crashing. "Perhaps we should try a different tactic," he suggested. He was once again gripping his rosary beads. The prayers that were going on in the back of his mind were nearly subconscious, but still present.  
  
"I'm open to suggestions!" She tried to push the engine further. The Chevy roared and shook her in her seat, but it didn't speed up. Beth Ann fought off tears. She wasn't going to win this. She had failed so many times, and this time it would probably get her new friend killed and her a life sentence of poking and prodding. She failed to hide her mutation from her parents. She failed to stand up to her father in time. She failed to control her powers and failed to take responsibility for her actions. She couldn't even run away successfully.  
  
The pride of sleek black cars were gaining on them and there were no exits nearby. Each second that passed brought them closer to defeat. She ran through any possible alternatives. They weren't pretty. Kurt might be successful in fighting them again. He was fast, and a powerful fighter, but there were so many of them, and she didn't want him to risk his life again. She could give herself up. She didn't like that idea at all, but maybe it would give Kurt a chance to escape. There was, of course a third option.  
  
"...why do you not defend yourself when these men come for you?"  
  
"I killed my mother! I will never use my power like that again, I don't care what it costs me."  
  
"Screw it!" she shouted angrily. The black cars were only a few hundred feet behind them when Beth Ann slammed on the breaks. The tires screeched across the asphalt. Behind her, she heard four other sets of wheels squeal in response.  
  
Kurt's mouth hung open. He turned back to the cars behind them and then to Beth Ann. "Is this part of the plan?" She didn't answer. She could tell by his body language that he was contemplating teleporting out to fight once again. "Stay in the car Kurt." Again, she didn't look directly at him, but her voice permitted no argument. It was low and menacing and full of dark intention. Kurt was actually frightened by that voice, which was the point. If she was honest with herself, Beth Ann would have to admit that she was a little scared as well.  
  
But her decision was already made. "No more running." The door opened and she stepped out. She felt detached from reality. She felt a buzzing through her flesh. Men were getting out of the black cars, Brady was among them. His face was plastered with an arrogant sneer. She sneered right back at him and addressed him with the same fear inducing voice she used on Kurt.  
  
"You know my father's afraid of me. That's why he sent you to get me. That's why he pays you so well despite your many failures. He's terrified of me. You should be too." Only a few yards separated Beth Ann from Brady, who had taken the head of his company. The other men were shuffling nervously in response to her voice. Brady maintained his calm composure, but she noticed that his respiration increased and one hand was balled into a fist.  
  
"You're no threat to me." His voice was confident, but it held and edge to it. He recognized that she might be a threat, even if he refused to admit it. "The only thing you're good at is running away."  
  
"Not any more." There was a sound that they felt rather than heard. It ran through the earth, into the soles of their shoes and up their legs. "You've all heard the story. I'm sure you have." The sound began to make loose debris on the road dance. "About how I brought down the house..." Birds flew out of nearby trees and squirrels scampered down with the instinctive understanding that something bad was about to happen.  
  
"I wasn't even trying then." She focused all her energy into the ground. There was a sound like a thunderclap as a crack opened in the pavement a meter in front of her. Beth Ann's breathing became labored as the crack grew and spider webbed out towards the now terrified men.  
  
Brady watched with horrified fascination. Realizing his life was at risk, he tried to defend himself the only way he knew how. He pulled his gun from his holster and aimed it at Beth Ann. The other goons followed suite, all aiming at the tiny girl in front of them.  
  
Beth Ann waved a hand in front of her. Her senses were more alive than they had ever been, and she could actually feel the molecules of the air as they brushed against her hand. She gave the air molecules a little push. To the gunmen, it felt as though an electrical current passed from the guns into their hands. In alarm, most of them dropped their weapons. Brady managed to squeeze the trigger before dropping his.  
  
Beth Ann gasped in alarm and shot another powerful sound wave into the air. This one was so forceful that the sound closely mimicked the sound of the gunshot. She was amazed that nearly insubstantial oxygen and nitrogen molecules could divert the course of a bullet, and very relieved as well.  
  
Beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Her whole body was vibrating, it's energy transferring to earth and air. Another pulse of vibrating molecules shattered the windshields and windows in the cars. By then the spider web of cracked asphalt reached the men. The earth buckled and heaved under their already shaky legs. Most of them lost their balance and fell to the ground quickly. Others, like Brady, fought to remain standing. Beth Ann smiled in morbid satisfaction when a small crack opened under his left foot, trapping it and sending him tumbling off balance. He shrieked like a child when the bones of his ankle snapped.  
  
The whole event took just over a minute. The miniature earthquake subsided, leaving most of the men cowering on the ground, and several others groaning in pain from various injuries.  
  
Beth Ann approached them, careful of the many fissures under foot now. The effort of her display had weakened her more than she was willing to show to her would be attackers, so she masked her shaking as anger. She towered over Brady's prone form. She addressed him, her voice dripping with disdain.  
  
"Here's the deal. You all leave my father's employment and never terrorize another mutant as long as you live. In return, I let you live. Break the deal and believe me, no amount of money from my father will be worth what I do to you." To her amusement, Brady looked like he was about to wet himself. Some of the men were starting to crawl back to the relative safety of the cars.  
  
Fat lot of good it'll do them. The engines have probably been rattled to pieces. It didn't matter. She turned away from them and smiled weakly. They didn't matter anymore. Behind her the road was clear and unscathed. Kurt stood beside the car watching her with admiration and awe. "That was really something," he commented when she got back to him.  
  
"I thought I told you to stay in the car." Her voice was faint, and she had to brace herself against the side of the car. Her exhaustion was catching up to her.  
  
Kurt misread the situation. "You are injured?"  
  
"No, just really tired. She opened the door to the car and collapsed on the seat. Kurt joined her inside the car with a look of concern.  
  
"I didn't want to do it. I was afraid that I would kill them, and I swore I would never do that again. But, I had to take a chance. I had to stop running and do something." She smiled again. "They sure do look scared back there, don't they?"  
  
Kurt turned around in his seat to watch the men behind them, some hiding in their cars, and some running into the forest. "They will certainly think twice about following you again."  
  
"Hey, you mentioned that there's a jet at that school, didn't you?" Beth Ann started up the car and the engine puttered to life.  
  
"Yes, why?"  
  
"I can make it to the next town, but then I need to rest, and I'm not sure how much farther the car will go. I was hoping we could give them a call, maybe get a ride."  
  
Kurt beamed. "So you are still coming to the school?"  
  
Beth Ann shrugged. "I've got no place better to go. Besides, I think sometimes family can be a good thing."  
  
"Ja, that is true."  
  
"Well then come on. Let's go home."  
  
Beth Ann didn't look in her rear view mirror. She was going home. There was no longer any need to look back. 


End file.
